On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued its final amendment (“Amendment”) to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, commonly referred to as the “QPAM Exemption”....more
On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a stay (the “Stay”) on the effective date of the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) 2024 investment advice fiduciary rule (the “2024 Fiduciary...more
The Department of Labor issued a final release (the “Final Release”) which (1) finalized changes to its 1975 rule defining when institutions and individuals are providing fiduciary “investment advice” to plans that are...more
5/9/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excise Tax ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan
On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued its final amendment (“Final Amendment”) to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, commonly referred to as the “QPAM Exemption”.
Generally, the QPAM...more
4/9/2024
/ Criminal Convictions ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disqualification ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Amendments ,
Non-Prosecution Agreements ,
QPAM ,
Recordkeeping Requirements
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) on October 31, 2023—Halloween—issued a release (the “Release”) proposing to make changes to the 1975 rule (the “1975 Rule”) defining when institutions and individuals are providing fiduciary...more
11/3/2023
/ Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
IRS ,
Proposed Rules ,
QPAM ,
Retirement Plan ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a decision (the “ASA Decision”) on February 13 that adds yet another twist to the 13-year long story of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) attempts to recraft...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 1, 2022, released a new final regulation (the “Final Regulation”) generally relating to certain aspects of the prudence and loyalty duties under the fiduciary rules of the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final Regulation (the “Regulation”) relating to the prudence and loyalty duties under the fiduciary rules of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”),...more
The Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on July 27, 2022, on its own initiative, proposed changes to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (“PTCE”) 84-14, commonly referred to as the “QPAM Exemption” (the “Proposal”). In general...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") on December 21, 2021 issued a supplement (the “2021 Supplement”) to a June 2020 Information Letter (the "2020 Information Letter") that had addressed the possible use of...more
12/28/2021
/ 401k ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Products ,
Information Letters ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Private Equity ,
Retirement Plan
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 14, 2021, released a new Proposed Regulation (the “Proposed Regulation”) generally relating to the prudence and loyalty duties under the fiduciary rules of the Employee...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) yesterday, on October 25, 2021, issued Field Advice Bulletin 2021-2 (the “2021 FAB”), along with an explanatory notice, (the “2021 Notice”) in connection with compliance with...more
Overview The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 15, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) finalizing Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (“PTCE”) 2020-2 (the “Final Exemption”) for retirement accounts...more
1/20/2021
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Biden Administration ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rollover Equity
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on December 15, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) finalizing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement...more
Overview -
At the end of last week, on December 11, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released a Final Rule, Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights (the “Final Rule”), which addresses the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on October 30, 2020 released a final regulation (the “Final Regulation”) relating to the consideration of non-pecuniary factors by fiduciaries of employee benefit plans (“Plans”) that...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) on August 18, 2020, issued an interim final regulation (the “Regulation”) requiring the inclusion of lifetime income illustrations in the benefit statements provided to participants in...more
9/20/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Comment Period ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Interim Rule ,
Lifetime Income Disclosures ,
Limited Liability ,
Request For Information ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on August 31, 2020 proposed a regulation (the “Proposed Proxy Regulation”) that would apply to how fiduciaries under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”)...more
9/19/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proxy Voting ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on June 29, 2020 issued a release (the “Release”) proposing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
7/20/2020
/ 1975 Rule ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Brokers ,
Comment Period ,
Covered Transactions ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Five-Part Test ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rollover Equity
This week, on June 29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a release (the “Release”) proposing an important new initiative for retirement accounts (“Plans”) that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") this week, on June 4, 2020, issued an Information Letter (the "Letter") regarding the use of private equity ("PE") investments in investment options offered under participant-directed...more
A substantial portion of available global investment capital is held under private U.S. pension and other employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). At the same time, for...more
5/16/2020
/ Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Investment Management ,
Political Parties ,
Retirement Plan ,
Trump Administration
A national emergency was declared on March 13, 2020, as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of that declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued emergency declarations for every state,...more
5/14/2020
/ Balloon Payments ,
COBRA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Notice Requirements ,
Relief Measures ,
State of Emergency ,
Temporary Regulations ,
U.S. Treasury
In Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held on August 20, 2019 that claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) can generally be subject to mandatory...more
9/11/2019
/ 401k ,
American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant ,
Arbitration ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Class Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Putative Class Actions
The U.S. Department of Labor’s amended “investment advice” fiduciary rule need no longer ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee. So - ding dong, the rule is dead....more